A New Life: Chapter 16: Imperfect Solution
by betterthings89
Summary: This saga is about the lives of the children of Lilly&Oliver and their friends children too. This chapter is about cheating,turmoil in a life long friendship, and the possibility of falling in love. Please leave reviews!


_* I hope you like this! __**Please leave reviews**__!_

**A New Life**

**-Chapter 16: Imperfect Solution–**

Things seemed to be going perfectly as far as Alex was concerned. He had a wonderful relationship with his girlfriend. He was doing well in school. In his head he was on top of the world. Even though he and his best friend weren't able to communicate with each other that didn't seem to affect his high spirits. But there was something that would bring him back down to earth. It was the sight of Benjamin Linus, the gloating egomaniacal jerk who had won over the heart of Rose. He was following his usual overly possessive behavior patterns. He was doing this by making sure everyone around saw that he and Rose where kissing quite vigorously. Alex drew closer to the pair. However disgusted he was by the sight of them he was, he could not avoid passing them to get to his next class. But as he got a better look at them a thought crossed his mind.

"_Since when does Rose have red hair? And since when does she wear three rings on each hand?" _Upon further observation he quickly realized the girl Ben was hot and busy with was not Rose at all. It was some other girl Alex had never seen before. _"He's cheating on her, what a pig?"_ He knew he had to do something about this. But he didn't know what. He couldn't tell Rose. She would only get mad and it was likely she would not believe him. He needed advice. So he went to Kristen who had been there for him in the past and was now his girlfriend which meant he confided in her whenever he could.

He caught up with Kristen who was by herself at the moment in the math hallway. "Hey baby." Alex said from behind. He had never really gotten past how cheesy it sounded to him calling her that, but she had asked him to, so he gladly obliged.

"Hey sweetie, how's it going?" Kristen smiled and kissed him on the cheek.

"I need to talk to you about something. It's kind of important."

"You know you can tell me anything. So what is it sweetie?"

"Well I know you don't really like me talking about Rose…"

"I don't mind it as long as you don't start telling me about all the feelings you have buried inside about her. So tell me what is it about Rose that has you so bothered."

"Who said I was _bothered_?"

"Your face did. Remember you're my boyfriend; I pay attention to everything about you. I can read you like a book. Something is bothering you and you're gonna tell me right now, okay?"

"Fine, that was the plan anyway. I came to you to tell you. So, anyway, you know how I think Ben Linus is a big jerk?"

"Yeah, and I know it's cause he's dating you're best friend. But, okay, so what about his being a jerk?"

"First of all, I said 'big jerk'. I guess I should say he's 'the world's biggest jerk'."

"And what prompted that promotion?"

"Well he's always kissing Rose in public, right? Kind of marking his territory, if you can believe people still act that swine hearted. Well…I guess Ben does."

"I know all about that. You're not the only one it bothers. I'm sure her family isn't too keen on it either. And it is a little inappropriate. But they _are_ teenagers…so what're ya gonna do, huh?"

"Well that's just the thing. I saw them about five minutes ago. Only it wasn't Ben and Rose. It was Ben and some other girl making out!"

"Are you serious? Right out in the open like that? Isn't he afraid she'll find out?"

"That's what I'm saying. He's a pig. I can't believe Rose likes that guy. He could not be more wrong for her. And she's way to smart not to find out on her own."

"But it looks like she hasn't found out. So let's hope she catches on soon and dumps his sorry butt."

"But what if she doesn't catch on? What if he just keeps two-timing her and she never finds out and she just keeps dating that loser?"

"I don't know. I don't think there's much of anything you can do. You might just have to sit back and hope things turn out for the best."

"I don't know if I can. I mean, I'm dating you, and I really like you a lot. But she is still my best friend…I think… I feel like I owe it to her to make her see what's going on."

"Well I can't help you there. I told you what I think. Maybe you should try asking someone else. Like a guy. Get a male perspective on it. You know what I mean?"

"I guess so. I don't know if I know any guys I'm that close with. Rose was my only real close friend. We'll see. I gotta get to Biology class. See ya later."

Alex went to his biology class. But the entire time he could not concentrate on the class. He couldn't keep his mind off of the sight of that preening ego monster with that red headed girl.

"Mr. Rhodes, am I boring you?" The teacher said, snapping Alex out of his stupor.

"Wha-what? Sorry, no I'm fine." Alex stammered. Some kids laughed at him from behind.

On his way home Alex could not clear his head of what he had witnessed.

"Kristen, I just can't get it out of my head, I have to do something."

"Well you know what I told you. Find someone else that might be able to help you. I think you should just leave it alone. I'm a girl and I know I wouldn't want to have someone like you tell me my boyfriend was stepping out on me."

"What do you me 'someone like you'?"

"I just mean, she might not want to have her best friend tell her something like that. There's no telling how she'll react to news like that. It might not end very well for you."

"I don't know how much more of this I can keep bottled up. I have to find a way to deal with this."

"Fine, but I don't know what to tell you. So like I said find someone you think might be able to help you. I'm going home, tell me what you come up with." They split paths and Kristen headed toward her house and Alex towards his. But a thought suddenly crossed his mind as to who he was going to talk to. He had been waiting outside the hospital for over two hours, fending off angry looking security guards, when the very person he needed to talk to came strolling out the door.

"Hey, Jimmy, how's it going?" Alex asked.

"Hey Alex, not bad. How about you? Where's your girlfriend?" Jimmy inquired.

"She went home."

"Then why are you here? Do you need a doctor or something?"

"No, I needed a guy to talk to and I thought you might be the right one to help me with my problem."

"I'm really busy, so if it's something to do with school then I don't know how long I can help you."

"It's not that. It's Rose."

"As in my sister Rose?"

"Yeah. Can I talk to you about her?"

"I guess. What about her? You're almost as close to her as I am. More in some ways."

"Not lately, not since well you know..."

"You mean not since she started dating Ben?"

"Yeah, not since then."

"I don't know how I can help you there. You wanna be more specific?"

"Well, I think he's a jerk."

"So do I, but I don't get to chose who my sister dates."

"Well, I just had that confirmed today. I mean the thing about him being a jerk."

"How so?" Jimmy asked, his interest taking a big climb.

"I saw Ben kissing this girl at school today, and it wasn't Rose."

"Who was it?!" Jimmy demanded.

"I don't know her. She had red hair and a lot of freckles. She was almost as tall as him."

"She sounds familiar. Did she have two earrings on either ear? And a bunch of rings on her fingers?"

"Yeah, she did, how'd you know?"

"I'm pretty sure that's my best friend's sister, Anny."

"So, how does that help?"

"Well I can tell him what's going on and see if he can do anything. Hang on." Jimmy pulled his new cell phone out of his pocket. Alex took notice of it.

"Is that one of those new holo-phones?"

"Yeah, it is. It cost me two months pay. But it was totally worth it. Sam has one too." Jimmy said as he touched a couple of commands on the screen. Then a three dimensional head warbled into existence emanating from the top of the phone. It was a red haired boy with an abundance of freckles on his face.

"Hey Jimmy, these things are so cool! I feel like your chin could stab my arm even though it's not really here."

"Very funny. Sam do you know if Anny is seeing somebody named Ben Linus?"

"You mean Roger's little brother? Not that I know of. But lately she's been really weird, all the funky make-up and the earrings and stuff. And she doesn't talk to any of us. So she could be seeing Ben I don't know. But isn't Rose dating him?"

"Yeah, that's the thing. Roses' friend saw Anny making out with Ben."

"I'd have some serious words with her. But like I said, she won't listen to me at all anymore."

"Jimmy…" Alex said, trying to get his attention.

"Hang on Sam." Jimmy muted the audio so Sam could see him but not hear him. "What is it Alex?"

"Ask him if there's anything his sister is afraid of, or anything that really turns her off." Alex said.

Jimmy un-muted the phone. "Sam is there anything you know of that really turns Anny off?"

"Ummm, she hates guys who eat meat. That's another thing; she's a vegetarian all of a sudden."

"Ok I think that's good. I'll see ya later Sam."

"See ya." The hologram of Sam faded out of existence and Jimmy placed the phone back in his pocket.

"Okay, so why did I get him to tell me that?"

"Cause I'm gonna use it to try and get her to stop seeing Ben."

"Why? I thought you hated Ben? Don't you want Rose to catch him? That would solve the problem for sure."

"I do hate him, but I don't want to see Rose get hurt. So if she doesn't find out she'll be okay. And maybe Ben will realize he's got a good thing with her and treat her better."

"I can almost guarantee that's not how it'll play out Alex."

"Well I have to do something; I can't just let him keep on hurting her like that. I have to… I just do."

"Why? Why do you have to? I'm her brother, and even I can't do anything. Maybe it'll be good for her. It'll make her want to choose better guys to date in the future."

"I can't let that happen! I just can't!"

"Why? Why can't you? She hasn't talked to you in months. You should just let it alone."

"I can't. That's all I can tell you, I can't let Rose get burned like that. I can't do it." Alex said, now fighting back tears.

"Why? Why is it so important to you? I realize she's been your best friend since you two where in diapers, but still…why is it such a big deal to you?"

"Cause…Cause I love her! There…I said it!" Alex burst out in an explosion of emotion, tears flowing freely down his cheeks.

"What!? Really?...well I guess I kind of already knew."

"How…how did you know? Did your dad tell you?" Alex demanded; his cheeks becoming dark red.

"What are you talking about? How in the world would my dad know?"

"Cause I kind of told him a while back. I asked him not to tell anybody."

"Okay, color me confused, but why would you tell _my dad_ and not Rose? If you love her why would you tell her dad and ask him not to tell. If you felt that way you should've told her."

"Well I wanted to. I really did, more than anything in the world I wanted to tell her."

"Then what stopped you?"

"I knew she liked Ben. And I thought if I told her how I felt she might hate me for getting in the way of her and Ben."

"Well, then that was your choice. I don't see that there's anything you can do about that now. If you chose to keep it a secret, then the best thing you can do is try to stop thinking about it now."

"What do you think I've _been_ doing!? Or at least trying to, but…" His tears showed no signs of letting up, his face was soaked and his eyes where completely bloodshot.

"But what?"

"But lately she's…she's all I can think about. I'm dating Kristen and she makes me really happy. But no matter how hard I try I can't get Rose out of my mind. I love her. And after seeing Ben cheating on her… well that's just made it worse. I'm more in love with her now than ever."

"Wow. All I can say is; I'm happy for my sister that there's a guy like that for her. I just wish the _other_ _guy_ would get lost."

"Me too, I think about that all the time. It makes me feel sick sometimes."

"Well the only thing I can think of for you to do is tell her how you feel about her. And definitely tell her what Ben's doing."

"I think you're right." Alex wiped the tears from his face and went home. He was almost happy again. He had the solution to his problem. There were only a few problems. He was dating Kristen, and he did like her too much to break up with her if Rose did somehow become available. The other thought that crossed his mind was _'What if Ben manages to lie his way out of this.'_ But he knew had had to act, too much was at stake to do nothing. So when he got to school the next day he had a plan. He was going to steer Rose into a trap, a trap in which she discovered Ben's treachery. Then he would seal the deal by comforting her and revealing his feelings to her. He would sort out the fallout with Kristen later, he was sure she would understand. But then again, what kind of person would just cut a girl loose to be with another one. The answer was clear, if he did this, he would be no better than the jerk he was trying to save Rose from in the first place. Cracks were forming in his master plan and the floor was about to fall out from underneath him completely.

He was lucky enough to catch Anny by herself so he could talk to her. He had decided to compromise slightly between Jimmy and Kristen's suggestions. This way he would do the right thing with Kristen, whom he had strong feelings for and did want to see where they led, even if they led away from Rose, he was willing to deal with the hurt. He stopped Anny before he discovered any more flaws in his plan.

"Anny, can I talk to you?"

"Do I know you?" She demanded in a very rude and annoyed tone of voice.

"No, but you know how you and Ben Linus are kind of seeing each other?"

"Yeah, I guess, what do you care, you jealous?"

"No, but there's something about him you might want to know."

"And what is that?"

"He eats meat. A lot of it. You might call him a card carrying meat lover."

"Well, I can't have that. I ain't dating a guy that eats poor helpless animals."

"I don't blame you. You should break up with him."

"You're totally right, I will break up with him. I'm gonna go do it right now."

"Good for you." Alex said. Anny started to walk away to go find Ben, but she stopped less than ten feet from Alex and then came back.

"Well I don't think I need to break up with him. He's already done it. He's over there sucking face with some black haired creep." Anny said in mock disgust. Alex was about to leap down Anny's throat verbally but he turned to look and realized the girl in question, that seemed to be attached to Ben's face, was not in fact Rose but another girl. "That's Penny Scavo. She's dumber than my brother."

"Yeah, I think you're right. She probably thinks she's the only one dating him."

"Are you calling me dumb kid?"

"No, not at all. The other girl he's dating besides Penny isn't dumb either."

"They can have him. Trust me, he aint worth it."

"Hey, wait. By any chance do you know anything about Penny?"

"Like what?"

"Like anything that would get her really mad at Ben?"

"His dad drives one of those old gas cars. She's really high on that environment stuff. She might not like it if she knew about that."

"Thanks, I'll see if it works."

Alex watched Ben and Penny, every second made him feel more reviled, but he stood his ground and waited. As soon as they broke apart Ben said something to her and then walked off in the other direction. Alex caught up with Penny.

"Hey, Penny…no you don't know me, if that's what you where gonna ask."

"Yes I do, we have biology together. You looked kinda cute yesterday… that vacant stare."

"You're dating Ben Linus, right?"

"Yeah, he's great. We're going out on a date tomorrow."

"Are you sure you wanna do that?"

"Yeah, of course, why wouldn't I? You have a girlfriend, so why do you care."

"I don't care. I thought you might though."

"What do you think I should care about?"

"I just thought you might want to know Ben and his family doesn't care at all about the environment. They still drive those old gas cars."

"Oh, great he's one of those. Well I'm gonna tell him, after my next class, it's over for us."

"Oh, and he's been seeing at least two other girls."

"Oh, he's gonna get it!"

"Maybe you should just stop seeing him, I heard he can get pretty violent when things don't go his way." Alex lied; he didn't want to risk Rose catching wind of things.

"I can take care of myself, he's really gonna get an ear full from me." Penny said angrily. Alex went to his last class of the day. When he got out, he sensed that he was being followed. But he couldn't figure out from where so he didn't worry about it. He was going to meet Kristen at the front of the school. He came out the side door to the school. Just as he began to round the corner of the school a pair of hands grabbed his shoulders from behind, flipped him around and slammed him against the cold brick wall.

"I know it was you!" Ben shouted in his face, spit spraying on his skin.

"I don't think I know what you're talking about."

"You know exactly what I'm talking about. You've been scaring off my girlfriends."

"I think you did that all on your own. You're not very careful. But besides you wouldn't want Rose to find out, would you?"

"You're not gonna tell her!"

"Why shouldn't I?"

"Cause I'll make you sorry if you do! Besides she wouldn't believe you if you did. I've got that girl wrapped around my finger so tight she thinks I'm perfect."

"Well she'll figure it out eventually. She's a lot smarter than you. You'll see."

"Yeah, maybe I will. But mind your own business!"

Alex walked away from Ben extremely shaken. The whole encounter felt very personal to Alex. The way Ben thought of Rose came as a personal attack to him. She had been his lifelong best friend and Ben wronging Rose seemed like he was wronging Alex too. He just couldn't work out what to do about this very real problem. Ben wouldn't dare hurt him for fear that Rose wouldn't forgive him, or that it would lead to questions about why it happened. So he decided he had to tell her the truth. So for the next couple of days he mulled over how to go about doing it. On Saturday he spotted Rose on the beach by herself. So he decided it was safe to talk to her.

"Hey, Rose." He said in as cheerful a voice as he could muster under the circumstances.

"Hey, Alex, how's it going?" Rose said in a not-too-cheerful voice.

"I'm doing alright. Where's Ben?"

"He's at home right now. He has some _things_ to think about."

"Like what kinds of things?"

"Personal things. Is there something you wanted to talk to me about?"

"Do I need an excuse to talk to my best friend?"

"I guess not, but we haven't seen each other in a while. I thought maybe we weren't talking or something."

"Well with you dating Ben…he doesn't seem like he wants you talking to somebody like me."

"What do you mean 'somebody like me'?"

"We've always been really close friends and he might see me as a threat."

"I doubt it." Rose replied. Alex didn't know how to take this.

"I just think you could do better."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"He doesn't deserve you."

"I like him a lot. I might even love him. And nothing you say will change that!" Rose scolded him.

"I lo…he's been cheating on you…a lot."

"What makes you think that's any of your business whatsoever?!"

"You're my friend, I though you should know."

"I already knew. He told me yesterday."

"So you're gonna break up with him then?"

"NO! He promised me he was done doing that. And I told him I'd give him another chance. I trust him, he'll keep his word."

"You really think so? You are way too good for him."

"Stop it! You're just jealous. You can't stand me spending time with somebody else!"

"I have a girlfriend. And we haven't seen each other in months. How can you say that?"

"Why else would you butt into something that's not your business?!"

"Cause I care about you! You're my best friend!"

"Not anymore! I can't believe you would try to break me up with Ben. I don't ever want to see you again. Do us both a favor and never talk to me again!" Rose said at the top of her lungs, she turned and ran away as fast as she could.

"Rose, I love you." Alex said quietly, no one heard. He took off running to his only place of solitude. The rock formation, miles from the main beach, was the only welcoming respite from the agony of what had just happened. He slumped down on the sand behind the rock and lay on his back. The tide splashed over the rock and soaked him through his white shirt, his thin body now showing through. He felt sad, pathetic and alone. But before long he wasn't alone anymore. Kristen came up to him with a look on her face that said she knew what had happened. She was wearing a very attractive two-piece bathing suit. In any other circumstances he would be extremely taken by what he was seeing.

"Stand up Alex." Kristen commanded.

"I take it you heard?"

"You're gonna freeze if you stay like that. Take your shirt off and wrap this towel around yourself." Kristen instructed him, ignoring his inquiry. He obeyed her, pulling his shirt up over his head, stretching his already thin stomach. Kristen hugged him tight, their bare skin pressing together. Again, Alex knew that had the situation been different he would have felt quiet hormonal at the moment. She kissed him on the forehead and wrapped her towel around him and began rubbing his back over the towel in an attempt to calm his frayed nerves. He didn't move at all, he was rigid and frozen to the spot. To try to calm him down further, Kristen moved in behind him and wrapped her arms around his stomach, over the towel, and stretched up slightly to let her chin rest on his shoulder.

"Yeah, I know what happened. I wasn't that far down the beach. Everyone heard. So you might wanna lay low for a while. People are going to gossip."

"I'm sorry. You were right. I shouldn't have said anything to her."

"I think you did the right thing. You did what you always do. You showed that you care about people more than yourself a lot of times. That's why I like you so much."

"Can you forgive me? I mean I like you so much, but sometimes I can't hold those feelings I have deep inside, those feelings for Rose."

"I can forgive you. But I do find it hard to accept that I'm dating a boy that's in love with a girl, and it's not me. And that he may never feel that strongly for me. But I'm willing to wait, and maybe someday you will feel like that about me."

"I'm glad you understand. I think if, like you said, you give it some time, I could fall in love with you. There's no reason I wouldn't. I'm really lucky to be with somebody like you. So… I'll do my best to keep Rose out of the picture… since she doesn't want to see me again…ever."

"I'm sure she'll get over it eventually. But just so you know I'm glad I'm with you too Alex." Kristen said as she pulled him around to face her. The kiss was short and sweat, and turned into a long, silent hug. Some of Alex's soul had been irreparably damaged today. On the other hand his feelings for Kristen had been strengthened even more.

_**Notes to the readers:**_

***Reviews are much appreciated!!**

_** This is the sixteenth chapter of my story "A New Life". If you haven't read my first saga you may not know where these characters are coming from. So you might want to read it, or at least "Meant to Be Parts 5-9". This story takes place before the end of "Meant To Be"._

_***Lilly and Oliver, and Miley and Jackson are in their thirties/forties. Jimmy is __**16. **__Rose is __**14. **__Michael and Susan (Miley's daughter), and Robbie Rod (Jackson's son) are all __**12.**_

_****If you want to find my other stories (My first saga) click on my screen name on the top of this page, and you can find my stories on my profile. If you want to stay updated as to when I post new chapters, please subscribe to my username!!_

_*****There will be more in the near future. So I hope you will continue reading. I have no idea how long this saga will last. I have ideas for somewhere between 21 and 25 chapters or more. So it will be longer than "Meant to Be" probably quite a bit longer. _


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